Body Found Inside Shack In Allentown

A man, apparently homeless, was found dead in a wooden shack near the 1000 block of Catasauqua Avenue in Allentown yesterday morning, Lehigh County Coroner Wayne Snyder said.

The man was discovered on the floor of the shack, which is 250 feet east of 1011 Catasauqua Ave., near the Lehigh Structural Steel plant. He was found by an acquaintance who lives near the shack, Snyder said.

Snyder declined to release the dead man's name or details about his death because the next of kin had not been notified as of last night.

The death has not been ruled suspicious, but Allentown police are investigating. Allentown Detective James O'Connell was injured while investigating the death about 10:30 a.m., according to a police report. The detective hit his head on a rusty nail, sticking out of a piece of wood.

Snyder declined to say whether there were any marks on the man's body, indicating how he died. He said he's unsure how long the man had been dead.